"Chinese immigrants began arriving in Chicago in the late 1870s as ex-railroad workers faced increasing discrimination in the Western states. The population rose slowly, until the communist revolution in China coupled with a relaxation on immigration laws brought on a surge in immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to the formation of a Chinatown. By the year 1970, Chicago ranked fourth in Chinese population in American cities. Currently, Chicago has the 4th largest Chinatown in the United States. In the earliest days, Chinese settlement in Chicago centered around Clark Street and Van Buren Street, the north end of a heterogeneous ""anything goes"" part of town called the Levee District. With time, the area became infamous as a vice district (mostly for non-Chinese sections). As the city's business district grew, the area became too expensive for settling immigrants, who found themselves centering around the Cermak and Wentworth Avenue area. It was then populated mostly by Italians and Croatians, due to the relatively inexpensive leases compared with other neighborhoods. Today, many immigrants from mainland China and Taiwan make Chinatown their home as they become acclimated to the culture of their new home."